Is that hope on the horizon?

Small business owners can be confident that the end of the recession is nearing, according to a leading economist. Michael Baxter, of the research company Defaqto, said economic growth could return to the UK within a matter of months.

He was commenting after the CIPS/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index showed an upturn in the manufacturing industry, rising 50 points in July. Mr Baxter proposed that CIPS reports are usually a good indicator of the UK's economic position and as such it is "a mistake" to ignore them. He commented: "The signs are pretty clear right now that UK is going pull out of recession in the next few months and I think the CIPS report is another bit of evidence of that. Based upon this notion, he advised the Bank of England to cease its current programme of government stock purchases and allow the economy to find a level footing. "I think it would be a bit of a mistake to do more of that quantitative easing," he stated.

Earlier this week, Vicky Redwood of Capital Economics claimed the Bank could even extend its asset purchasing scheme this week, despite already committing to inject £125 billion in to the nation's finances.

I'm not convinced myself yet but the performance this week of the better managed banks has given some credence to the theory that the market recovery may continue, but it's got a long way to go before we can all breath out!

Gareth